Authority of Qawl Al-Sahabi in Fiqh and its Application in Modern Islamic Finance

The companions of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) who devoted their lives in understanding and propagation of Islam possess the most highly regarded and noblest status amongst all the Muslims, as envisaged in the Quran and the Sunnah. This paper deals with the issue of Fiqhi status of Qawl al-Sahabi (Islamic verdict or fatwa of the companions) in the discipline of Islamic jurisprudence. The paper offers an extensive qualitative analysis of various views on the subject matter. The paper maintains that the majority of Muslim jurists are of the view that the legal opinions of the companions are considered as an authoritative source of Islamic law under specified conditions, and as such the Muslim jurists, from the past and present alike, heavily rely upon these opinions to support their own Islamic legal judgments (Fatawa). Besides, the opinions of the companions also play a very vital role as supportive underlying evidences in Fiqh al-Mua`malat. Given the same paramount significance of these opinions, they are also treated and used, along the line with other secondary sources of Shari`ah, in Islamic finance as proofs for contemporary Fatawa. The paper argues that this secondary source of Shari`ah can be creatively utilised for further inventions and innovations in Islamic finance along with other sources.